ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The governor of the Iraqi province of Muthanna, Ahmed Menfi, met on Wednesday with senior Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani to discuss ongoing domestic unrest and international hostilities playing out on the ground in the embattled nation.
Menfi led a provincial delegation to the office of Barzani—who is the former president of the Kurdistan Region and the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)—located at KDP headquarters outside the city of Erbil.
Aside from discussing “the political situation and the latest developments in Iraq,” read a statement, the governor "expressed his appreciation for Barzani’s stances regarding the ongoing political turmoil in Iraq," and for aiding the provinces in southern parts of the country.
The delegation also called on Barzani to take an active role in resolving the two simultaneous national crises now enveloping Iraq.
Since early October, anti-government protesters have taken to the streets by the tens of thousands to express long-held grievances resulting from the lack of jobs, inadequate public services, and institutional corruption. Unofficial statistics estimate that close to 600 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces and Iran-backed militias.
At the same time, as tensions between arch-foes Iran and the US have boiled over on Iraqi soil, Baghdad has struggled to balance its relations with the US—Iraq’s ally in the fight against the so-called Islamic State—and Iran, which backs militia groups and has entrenched itself in Iraqi politics.
Related Article: Iraqi president at Davos: 'Our interest does not lie in being drawn into conflicts that are not of our making'
Governor Menfi has visited Erbil on multiple occasions, meeting with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities to coordinate on many fronts, most notably on issues relating to last year's discovery of mass graves in Muthanna.
Read More: In 2019, a total of 18 mass graves discovered in Iraq
In mid-2019, Manfi told Kurdistan 24 that teams had found two mass graves containing Kurds believed to have been killed during the former Baathist regime’s deadly Anfal campaign.
Editing by John J. Catherine